what people are talking about today. >> adam may has the latest. >> reporter: and the mayor is very happy about this investigation. $6,300 in cash and a bottle of champane. that's what police say they found inside this office of transportation. >> it's not a serious charge, gambling but it says a lot about people's trust in the city. >> reporter: following the conviction of former mayor sheila dixon, the mayor started a new whistle blower program. taxpayers not only agree they are outraged. >> that's, as far as i'm concerned my hard earned money. >> you're not doing the right

thing with our money. our taxpayer's money. >> it's unbelievable. it's very unbelievable. >> reporter: some say the may mayor should reduce the city work force more than it already is. >> reporter: do we have too many city workers, if they have time to be gambling. >> no, we had some city workers that weren't doing what they were supposed to do. it bothers me because we have so many people making sacrifices to have a few bad apples taint the work of so many good people. >> reporter: those 13 workers face a misdemeanor charge. one of them also faces an assault charge for allegedly shoving an agent during the raid. police say that many of the people involved in this actually tried to run from police when they busted it up. reporting live at city hall, adam may. >> thank you very much adam. the workers were part of a team that help set up for parades, festivals and other special events. someone has to know

something, that's still the message from police three months after an honors student vanished here in baltimore. mary is live in the newsroom with the latest in the search for felicia barnes. >> felicia was visiting her sister, staying at her west baltimore apartment over christmas break when she vanished literally without a trace. now that the weather is warming up, police are planning to conduct some new searches sometime soon in hopes of finding something. the total reward for information leading to a reward and conviction is more than $35,000. vic. >> mary, thank you. of course wjz is keep following the search for felicia and we'll let you know as soon as she's found. president obama will tell the nation why he ordered

action in libya. >> reporter: libyan rebels are pushing west to the last government stronghold outside tripoli. they stop their tanks outside of gadhafi's hometown. opposition forces have quickly swept across the coast. but the general about to take command insists the air strikes are not designed to provide cover for the rebels. >> our goal is to help protect civilians. >> reporter: the u.s. is set to hand over leadership of the -week-old operation to nato in a matter of days. still, critics are questioning the nation's involvement and want to know how long the u.s. will stay. president obama is expected to make his case in his address to the nation tonight. >> our involvement there is going to be limited. both in time and in scope. >> reporter: lawmakers have been calling on the president to clarify his position. >> it's fair to ask, what is

the role of our military and military alliance in providing support to an opposition that we are only now beginning to understand. the white house is working to make a clear distinction between the military mission and an ongoing political effort that might persuade gadhafi to step down. at the white house daniel nottingham, wjz eyewitness news. you can watch the president address the nation right here on wjz. it is scheduled to get under way at 7:30 tonight. the u.s. and the rest of the world continue to watch the ongoing nuclear crisis in japan. workers at the fukushima plant are struggling to remove contaminated water. readings are showing up in soil around the plant and sea water. some radiation in the plant

has made its way to the united states. and scientists report there are traces of radiation in maryland. >> reporter: you can call it minute levels of radiation. >> reporter: it was 32 years ago when three year island in pennsylvania suffered a nuclear power melt down. they are expressing concerns over the trouble in japan's fukushima plant where leaking radiation has now traveled through the atmosphere all the way to maryland. in fact, friday routine radioactive testing detected small amounts of radiation.

>> we're talking about exceedingly small amounts of radiation nothing to cause concern. >> reporter: a rain testing found iodine 131. the epa says those rainwater radiation levels are about 25 times below the level that would be of concern. even for the most vulnerable, infants and pregnant women. >> we were not able, even with the most sensitive equipment to detect any alarming amounts. >> reporter: in an abundance of caution, maryland will now increase its radiation testing. >> it will just allow us to provide information to the public if anything were to change. >> reporter: the health secretary says the state is going to begin testing for

radiation at least once a week. derek valcourt, wjz eyewitness news. derek thank you. health officials say our water and food supply is safe. maryland's cash strapped horse racing may get the help it needs. >> reporter: money will go to the state's five horse racing tracks. to get the money the tracks will have to submit plans and open their books to the state's panel. denise. >> thank you, kai. it now moves to the senate for approval. the port is being credited for finding a bug less than an inch long. in asian where the bug is

found, millions of the dollars in damage has followed. >> reporter: out of the thousands of shipping containers moving through the port of baltimore only a fraction are physically inspected. fortunately one of those inspections turned out this, an asian long horn beetle. >> native to china it could cause extensive damage to forestry. >> reporter: not just timber grown for harvest. the beetle will gnaw on trees from state forests to backyards. its first appearance here was stopped at the port. >> it's what's called a hitchhike plan. they ply into open containers and go along for the ride. >> reporter: for the past few year, maryland has been destroying thousands of ash trees to stop another foreign

invader that did sneak in. the emerald ash bourn. >> they work from inside the tree, you don't even know they are there until the tree is gone. >> in the last two seasons, we've seen a dramatic increase in crop damage. >> reporter: luckily this is one hitchhiker who's ride stopped short this time. alex demetric, wjz news. and the port is staffed with a full time antimologist. the sun made a welcome return today but it did not really warm things up. a live look outside. it is unseasonably chilly for the end of march. will the weather warm back up? chief meteorologist bob turk and bernadette woods have the

latest. >> reporter: take a look at the temperature, we did have a lot of sunshine this afternoon. it did warm us up a bill. 47 here, 47dc: but the dewpoint is very low. 6degrees very dry air. 38 out in oakland. temperatures only in the mid- 40s. we only got into the mid- and upper 40s perhaps a little bit warmer tomorrow. look at these temperatures and just how cool it's been, bernadette. >> it really has been. we've taken a major hit in temperatures last week. we're going to take you back to wednesday. since then you are our average high temperature has been 84.56%. during that time frame the normal average is 57 degrees. today it even goes down to 58 degrees. we've been way below normal, when you see the five day forecast, the cool air is going to continue. now at the same time there's a few different storms coming into this cool air. the next one being wednesday as it moves our way. you can see out to the west of us, there's a little bit of

rain. not a huge storm but it is the end of march. we will have the full forecast coming up back inside. >> bahumbug thank you very much. hundreds of people attend the funeral for a maryland marine killed in combat in afterbegan stan. weijia - - killed in combat in afghanistan. weijia jiang has the story. >> reporter: this man is known as being a proud soldier and proud family man. he leaves a wife, two sons and a baby on the way. american flagged lined the catholic church in manchester. hundreds lined up to pay honors. >> i've never felt this much pain in my entire life. my little boy is dead. >> reporter: the father of two

graduated from carol high school. even before that malachowski knew he wanted to join the marines as soon as possible. michael dugordon grew up with him. >> he would set up himself with a goal and he would go get it. he did the marines because that's the hardest thing he found to do. a challenge. >> everybody that worked with him looked up to him. >> reporter: even strangers look up to him. thousands gather to ensure a peaceful service and to pay their respects. >> he gave the ultimate sacrifice, how else can you say thank you. >> i have a lot of pride in this country. the men and women over there in afghanistan are doing a lot for us. this is just a little part i can do today. >> reporter: malachowski's mother says her son wanted to go out serving his country. it was his fourth combat tour. >> this is the best way to go. he left going what he loved and we should all be so lucky. >> reporter: reporting in

westminster, weijia jiang eyewitness news. malachowski's mother and sister also served in the military. in tomorrow's baltimore sun, -- blackberry agreed to stop selling the app. and still to come tonight, face book depression. too much time on the social media website and the affect on your children's mental health. i'm mary bubala. advocates of city schools rally for full funding. next hear from passional students and parents. i'm jessica cartalia in baltimore county, dozens of dogs and cats killed in a house fire. what were they all doing inside this home?

i'll let you know next on wjz. and late march evening, will it warm up at all this week? bob turk is updating your seven day forecast. ,,,,,,

a house fire in baltimore county destroys a home and kills dozens of dogs and cats inside. the homeowner was on a mission to save them. >> we have an million control

on the way down. >> reporter: firefighters try to save dozens of dogs and cats. wjz has learned that 13 cats and nine dogs died in this fire. four other dogs are now with fosters. >> she would go and rescue them from places that were about to euthanize them and bring them here until she could find a better home for them. >> reporter: this neighbor did not want to go on camera but says everyone on the street was very concerned about the animals. >> we were just heartbroken. obviously we're dog owners too. >> reporter: the home is a total loss. investigators say it was an electrical fire that started accidentally. >> mas rescue is a volunteer association. >> no family members or

firefighters were injured in the blaze. better safe than story. students were evacuated at six schools including bell air high school after getting suspicious calls. the school district won't tell us what the caller said but students were evacuated just to be safe. everyone was allowed in a few moments later. in these tough economic times, lawmakers sometimes have to make tough decisions on what to fund and what to cut. education is always a tricky subject. mary joined us with more in this school watch report. >> city parents, teachers students are fighting down to the wire to make sure that city schools are fully funded for next year. in front of city hall, members of the baltimore education coalition rally to keep the momentum going for full education funding for baltimore city public schools. students were even in the crowd. >> it makes us take action because we should have a say in

this because it's all about us. >> i think every kid and student needs a great school. >> reporter: bobby mcdonald is her mom, director of three city charter schools. >> i'm fighting for school because this is something that affects my kids and every other child in baltimore. >> reporter: close to 2,000 rallies in annapolis earlier this month forcing lawmakers to bring back millions slated to be cut. mayor blake bring back funding for city schools but there still is still uncertainty. >> reporter: the - - >> the full cuts have not been restored. >> we need to make sure that we press forward and say no cuts

to public education and the baltimore county public school system. >> the proposed state budget initial little reduced funding for city schools by $17 million, denise. let's run up to pennsylvania and grab the ground hog. and the barometer holder steady. come back and take a look at more cool the ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

well, at least it is clear out there right now. >> yeah, and dry. >> and cold. >> very, very dry. we mentioned that it was even a brush fire a little early.

it's really dry out there right now today and there's still a breeze. so the leaves that are on the forest floor can get very dry very quickly. so be careful if you're out there with matches, cigarettes, having cook outs. we're still at 47. easton at 49. 47 in dc. some spots in the mountains already down close to freezing even as we speak. the dewpoint is very slow. 6degrees, this is very, very dry air. we had clouds this morning, it moved off. we even had a little bit of slow in southwest virginia. not too far from richmond this morning. up to 48 was our high today. our average high is 58. 28 this morning. our average low is now close to 47. the record 1945, 87 degrees. 1942 21 degrees. that's a little more like it i

guess. winds around the area, 20, 12, eight, those will still be with us late today before they quit. dry air temperatures in some suburban areas may get down to 20, 23 degrees. in the area holding at about 40, 43 degrees. the system that came across now to the east coast. one, two, three four different systems out west continue to move across the country. most of them will pass just to our south , and because we still have plenty of air, won't see much here but we'll see a few wet snow flakes. and high pressure continues to bring that chilly in from the north. early wednesday, maybe a few wet snow flakes but generally light rain. it'll just be in the northern fringe of the precept. as you were this weekend on sunday, we had snow across southern areas as much as one to 3-inches fell southern maryland in the northern eastern shore. northwest winds and gusty with the bay temp in the mid-40s. so tonight it'll be clear and

cold. the winds will diminish later on. 25, some places get down to 20. sunshine for the most part during the day and chilly again. 50 and normal high 58 tonight. look for light rain here and temps holding in the 40 for your wednesday. not beautiful weather. >> well do something about that. try. try your best bob. >> still to come tonight on wjz eyewitness news. >> to catch a snake. and wait till you hear what bonds' former ,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,

it is just before 6:30. 47degrees and clear. good evening thanks for staying with wjz news. tonight more disturbing discoveries near that crippled power plant in japan. dangerous plutonian is being found. >> reporter: workers have struggling to remove hundreds of tons of contaminated water. the source of radiation levels 100,000 times higher than normal. spiked readings are showing up in soil around the plant. and in sea water, much farther north than previously discovered. it will the contaminated water is removed, workers can't restore the electric power needed. officials have been monitoring radiation levels since the plant was damaged. >> we want to make clear that there is no health impact. >> here in new york city, environment teams began taking samples from the main reservoirs to make sure there's

no increase in radiological materials. some evacuees are trying to sneak back into the evacuation zone. more than 60 miles away, the u.s. military is helping victims cope by building showers. >> personal hygiene is going to help out prevent illness. >> reporter: japan's season is beginning to see signs of life. toyota is restoring production at some of its plants. children are graduating kindergarten. and cherry blossoms, one of the signs of japan are starting to bloom. >> reporter: minuscule amounts of radiation were found in baltimore in the air and rainwater.

but the amount is so small it doesn't pose a danger to anyone. to donate, text red cross to 90999 to make a $10 donation. visit redcros s.org or visit a red cross. and mary bubala is live in the newsroom. >> the most positive statistics, the number of homicides dropped more than 1/3 from 2009 to 2010. they are down from 31 in 2009 to 20 in 2010. over all murders are down 50% since 2005. other violent crimes including assault and robbery were also down last year. the success is credited to equipment to monitor crimes. vic. >> mary, thank you.

marylanders are adding their two cents as to how the federal government should move on education. >> reporter: as the no child left behind act is about to be restored by congress, senator wilkenson wants to know how the community feels. >> i think they need more time to work with afterschool programs, especially to prepare them for the msa and the stanford 10. >> reporter: that's just one idea mccowlski is keeping in

mind. president obama 2011 budget includes $10 million more in education from last year. but cuts are always a concern. >> of course any resources that they can get would be beneficial. they can't afford to cut anything. >> reporter: and with 84,000 children in the city school system alone, many here say their voices are their best weapon for change. the senator's next round table is scheduled to be in charles county next sunday. i'm andrea fujihi, wjz news. towsend university has a new interim president tonight. she took the new job on april 2009. time now for a quick look at some of the stories you find in tomorrow's morning edition of the baltimore sun. what a new study says about your need for credit insurance. will the at&t team mobile merger be a good thing or bad

thing for marylanders. why baseball experts say baltimore has a special player in nick markakis. these stories and much more, remember to look for the updated forecast. in tonight's health care report, pediatricians and parents need to work together to work and warn parents about their children's social media use. >> reporter: melissa martinez gets her height and weight checked, when her doctor comes in, she get as social media check too. >> do you have a web page? >> reporter: the doctor has been talking facebook and twitter with her patients but know all doctors are asked to. more than half of all teens log on to social media more than once a day. the doctor warns about sexting,

cyber bullying and posting inappropriate pictures. >> might have sounded like a fun idea, funny, whatever at 17. but do you want it to come haunt you when you're 30, when a possible employer could see it. >> reporter: and doctors warn about social media depression. while the report cautions participants that the best approach is open communication and supervision, a discussion about the pros and cons of social media could be just what the doctor ordered. sandra hughes, wjz eyewitness news. pediatrics says the also important to talk to children about managing their time online so it doesn't affect their sleep, home work or exercise routines. >> in other words go to bed.

>> i'm with you. still to come tonight. ready for trouble. police taking no chances as the royal wedding approaches in london. the warning for troublemakers. what caused this truck loaded with fuel to go up in flames in texas. will we see any warmer temperatures headed our way as we go into april? i'll have the exclusive five day warning forecast. day warning forecast. here are the top stories at,

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up in flames, a fiery tanker lights up the sky in texas. another driver was going the wrong way on a fort worth highway this morning when he hit the gasoline tanker. the truck driver was killed in the explosion. highway officials say it could take months to fix the badly

burned highway. officials at the bronx zoo is on the look out for a venomous stake. the egyptian cobra slithered out of its enclosure friday. officials believe it is in the reptile enclosure. and they believe that it is unlikely he left the zoo. bonds adamantly denied every using performance enhancing drugs. as candyce wilson reports, his former mistress told a very different story in private. >> reporter: barry bonds looked calm when he arrived for his perjury trial. inside he was visibly uncomfortable as the jury heard from his former mistress kimberly bell. she testified that in 1999 the baseball superstar admitted to her that he used steroids. bonds is on trial for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury back in 2003 at the time she said he never knowingly took performance enhancing drugs. but prosecutors say bonds knew what he was taking as his body got bigger. and he went on to break baseball's all time record for home runs.

>> reporter: bell says her relationship with bonds lasted three years. he says his sexual performance declined. scientists say the physical changes are a side effect of steroid use. in 2007, playboy magazine paid bell to pose for photos and share intimate details of bonds. bonds' lawyers are hoping that will help discredit the witness. candyce gibson, wjz eyewitness news. cross defense attorney admits their client took designer steroids but he did so unwillingly making him innocent. russ mitchell is in for katie couric tonight and he has what's coming up on the evening news. >> rebels take on gadhafi's hometown. plus she preys on couples desperate for a child of their

own. we track down and confront a con artist who's making thousands of dollars off an adoption scam. right here on wjz13 baltimore. here's a look at tonight's closing numbers from wall ,,,,,,

# where did spring go? a live look outside right now. today unseasonably cool temperatures. bob turk and bernadette woods, they should have the answers. they're going to tell us how long this weather is going to last. >> it's going to last for a while in our forecast. tomorrow we'll have more sunshine. we'll start out in the 20s. we're only warming up to 50 degrees for our high. the clouds start to come in as a new storm comes our way. for more on that storm here's bob. >> that mean as chance of precept here on wednesday and if it starts early enough, particularly west of us there might be some snow flakes for a little while. eventually it'll be up in the mid-40s. about the same for thursday. 49, 49 another system from

friday. down to 32, don't be surprised in some spots, may see snow flakes friday night before it finally clears out. 48 so there's no really warm temperatures at all coming the next five days, vic. >> thanks, bob. police in london are looking closely at their security plan for the royal wedding. officers are concerned that extremist could use the wedding to bring violence to the capital. millions will be watching when prince william and kate middleson get married. officers arrested more than 200 violent protesters over the weekend. the anarchist group broke

hundreds of windows. the government is spending millions of the dollars to make sure prince william and kate will be safe. scotland yard will deploy sharp shooters who will mingle with guests. police snipers will be perched at key spots along the royal wedding route. >> there will be plain clothed officers. you name it this government and this nation can't get this wrong. the world and its eyes are on us. >> reporter: about 4 billion people are expected to watch will and kate tie the knot on tv. london is expecting a crowd of about 600,000 well wishers. police say anyone looking to spoil the party will face the harshest consequences.

harshest consequences. in london, tina crowse, wjz ,,,, [ dog barking, sirens wailing ]

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one week from today, mark is here with the fan sports report. >> you have to put some of those guys in a protective bubble. the season starts on friday guy, let's keep these guys healthy. mathis was thrown by a line drive in his arm in a simulated game. mathis says he's optimistic he will be able to make his first scheduled saturday on friday.

but manager shorwalter says he's not sure. britain pimped against the detroit tigers in an exhibition game in sarasota today. he had been the bird's best starting pitcher this spring. now he could be joining them for the start of the season. luke scott started his spring slowly but he has gotten hot as of late. today two home runs for scott. including this grand slam. he drove in seven runs against detroit. the baltimore bat pounded out 18 hits. bryan roberts, nick markakis and vlad guerrero each had three hits today. in or you are masn on wjz report, i asked adam jones about his run for a healthy season. he's optimistic with what they have along with shorwalter. >> he knows how to get the best

out of his players. we have the best guy right now. we have the players that have been proven to win in their careers and hopefully they can bring that to baltimore. >> well they did beat up the -- today. so what are the chances that the underdog orioles made a run this season? much like vcu made a run. vcu proves it can happen. the vcu rams a number 11 seed knocks out number one kansas in the regional final. vcu were one of the last teams in the tourney. stunningly they've won five in a row to reach the final four. >> we were 35-2 coming into this game. but we're playing our best basketball when it matters worse. that's why i'm sitting up here right now with a net around my

neck. >> i just got a picture sent to me, you can't walk any where on broad street right now. it's exciting. i'm sure everybody is going to be out there waiting for us. and i can't wait to get out of here. >> reporter: the team was greeted with a massive crowd. vcu against kansas and kentucky against connecticut from houston here on wjz. >> and walker postseason included 36 points and a win included 36 points and a win over san dieie,,,,

>> mitchell: tonight, libyan rebels say the tide is turning as they advance on on moammar qaddafi's hometown and president obama addresses the nation tonight, laying out his case for attacking libya. i'm russ mitchell, also tonight, new fehrs in japan. highly radioactive water is leaking from the fukushima plant and plutonium has been found in the soil. plus, she preys on childless couples. cbs news tracks down a con artist making thousands in an adoption scam. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> mitchell: good evening, katie is off tonight. president obama takes his case directly to the american people this evening to explain why he ordered military intervention against moammar qaddafi's forces in libya. some congressional leaders say the mission is not clearly defined and lacks an exit strategy, but the president is expected to tout its